Sign the Petition to

The USDA National Organic Program, Miles McEvoy, Director

The memorandum states: “Mutagenesis (treatment of plants with radiation or chemicals to induce random mutation) is considered part of traditional breeding programs.”

Genetic modification isn’t allowed in organic. Neither is radiation. Why is mutagenesis allowed when it is a form of genetic modification that employs radiation?

Like genetically modified seeds, mutant seeds present human health risks. Mutagenesis can produce dramatic shifts in genetically determined traits, triggering unknown toxins or allergens. Some blame recent increases in wheat allergies and intolerances on the fact that 99 percent of modern wheat, including organically grown wheat, is the product of mutation breeding.

I am concerned that your approval of mutant seeds may lead to the approval of mutant microorganisms.

The National Organic Standards Board has approved DHA and ARA, two synthetic nutrients used in baby formula and other organic foods, which are linked to severe gastrointestinal distress, prolonged periods of vomiting and painful bloating.

DHA and ARA are the product of mutant algae that have been genetically modified with radiation. The patents for DHA and ARA use mutagenesis interchangeably with recombinant DNA techniques of genetic engineering.

You should exclude DHA and ARA from organic because they are the product of mutagenesis.

Signed,

Organic Consumers Association

This petition closed about 3 years ago

How this will help

In order for a product to meet the criteria for USDA organic
certification, neither the product nor any of its ingredients can be
genetically engineered, or genetically modified. Certified...

In order for a product to meet the criteria for USDA organic
certification, neither the product nor any of its ingredients can be
genetically engineered, or genetically modified. Certified organic
products and ingredients also can't be irradiated.

Mutagenesis is a method of plant breeding that involves subjecting plants to
radiation, or dousing them in chemicals, in a way that scrambles their genes in order to produce new traits. The goal is to produce plants
suitable for modern industrial agriculture, where crops are grown in
vast monocultures with the aid of chemicals and machinery.

Sound a lot like genetic engineering? It is.

Mutagenesis doesn't involve transferring the genes of one species
into another. But just like genetic engineering, mutagenesis is an
imprecise and uncontrolled process. The intent may be to produce a
specific, desired trait. But there is no way to predict or control the
unintended consequences.

How did mutagenesis come to be allowed in organic?

The regulations governing organic are very clear when it comes to
genetic engineering. They exclude "methods used to genetically modify
organisms . . . by means that are not possible under natural
conditions."

That means no GMOs in organic. It should also mean no mutagenesis in organic. So why doesn't it?

According to the regulations, genetic engineering doesn't include the
use of "traditional breeding." Promoters of mutagenesis claim the
process is just another form of traditional breeding, and thus should
continue to be allowed in organic. Efforts to prove them wrong have so
far gone nowhere. In 2013, the National Organic Program issued a memorandum interpreting the regulation's reference to "traditional breeding" to include mutagenesis.

If we want to get mutagenesis out of organic, we have to convince the
NOP to change its interpretation of the regulations
governing organics.

Mutagenesis, like genetic engineering, also leads to increased use of pesticides—another health hazard, especially for children.

For example, BASF used mutagenesis to engineer an herbicide-resistant wheat variety. Clearfield wheat is grown on more than 1 million acres in the US. According to a Bloomberg news report:

"BASF, the world's biggest chemical company, is having success
with its line of Clearfield crops. The German company made the crops
tolerant of its Clearfield herbicide through chemical mutagenesis. It
alters the crops' DNA by dousing seeds with chemicals such as ethyl
methanesulfonate and sodium azide, according to company filings in
Canada, the only nation that regulates such crops."

Bloomberg reported that BASF enlists the help of 40 seed companies,
including DuPont Co. and Dow Chemical Co. in the U.S., to sell
Clearfield crops in markets that reject GMOs. Clearfield wheat, rice,
lentils, sunflowers and canola are planted from Russia to Argentina and
the U.S. without regulatory review, according to Bloomberg.

"Without regulatory review" is bad enough. But to allow the use of
mutagenesis, a process that involves "dousing seeds with chemicals," in
organic is a serious breach of consumer trust in the USDA organic
certification program.

How can you avoid food grown from mutant seeds?

How do you know if your organic food comes from mutant seeds? You don't. If you buy local, you can ask your local farmer.

Alternatively, you can avoid rice, wheat, barley, pears, cotton,
peppermint, sunflowers and grapefruit. These are some of the mutant crops
that you could potentially find in the organic section.